As a result of a number of things, I've decided to ordain into the Nyingma tradition as a monk. I know all the ramifications, and all the things that are said about ordination, and so forth, and I'm not concerned in the slightest. I have made the offering of body, speech and mind to the Guru who turned my mind from Samsara, and this is my offering to all living beings of those same three things. My only hearts desire is to engage in Dharma with all of my energy and will, and to be of most benefit as I possibly can. Because my Guru is a wanderer and I must go through a translator, it may take awhile to hear from him and I have no idea if he will accept me as his student, of course I will try until the day I die, but whatever happens I've made this decision.

The eight worldly concerns have been sloughed off me like dead skin from a leper, I have no need for amenities or comfort. I've lived with little possessions all my life, been poor multiple times, and am not afraid of any kind of hardship. I am quite literally willing to live off the scrap food that others do not eat, it makes no difference to me. I am so serious about dedication to Dharma that I am willing to be homeless for a few years if that's what it takes, so I can focus only on Dharma. I am not afraid of cold and heat, discomfort or danger. There is no sense in my continuing to go to work simply to keep my apartment, since I have no other ambitions in the world such as having children, a wife, traveling, or doing anything other than Dharma, it would be pointless to continue on my present path. Since I have no real need for anything beyond Ngondro and a couple of books, there is no need to keep an income in order to fully practice Dharma. So my requirements are few and basic. I am also young and healthy and so can help with any duties whatsoever in whatever monastery will end up taking me in, if that will even be able to happen.

Also, certain wrathful energies are making it impossible for me to progress in any other way. My job totally deteriorated after visions of wrathful Dakinis in a dream, and even though I have friends who are trying to get me jobs where they work, which almost always has been successful in the past, despite extensive experience in my industry I am being blocked which has never happened before. Its my hearts innermost desire to walk this path, nothing could bring me greater joy, doing anything else would be dishonest to myself. I know the vows are extensive, but I basically keep all of them already anyways. I live alone, have been celibate for three years, and have conquered my worldly desires for wealth, fame, praise, sex, shelter and so forth. My body, speech and mind are not my own, it belongs to Dharma and the service of living beings alone.

This is just one outlet I am trying in this process. I plan on speaking to local Sanghas as well. If I must, I will prove my devotion by quite literally being homeless as I said, until I can make this happen. The city I live in has numerous places to get food, clothes, and occasional shelter so I know I will be OK. Since I no longer give even the slightest damn about how others see me, I am not concerned about how I will be viewed socially. I have nothing at all tying me down to the world. I've given this a great deal of thought. Im simply done with engaging the world in the way that I have been, its over, finalized, and there is no going back.

That being said, I have no idea how to make it happen, or where to start. I live in the Northwest. If anyone has any ideas, or knows of any place that would consider meeting with me and talking with me, please let me know. I definitely need help in this, but I am also completely sincere. If and when I hear from my Guru, if he accepts me, I will ask for his recommendations as well. If worse comes to worse, I will actually be of more benefit to people as a homeless person because I will not have to conform to social norms, I won't have to not say what I want to say, I won't have to worry about whether or not a certain action will get my fired or make me judged by my peers despite being spoken or performed from my heart.

If anyone has any leads, recommendations, or is able to directly help me in this endeavor in any way, I would be extremely grateful.

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Wisdom, --Who is your Guru, and where is your ideal place to reside? It seems to me there may be many varieties of opportunities for you, but it would help to know more details of specific lineage and your preferences, etc.

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha

Are you looking for a community in Asia or in a Western country? Do you speak Tibetan or want to access a program in English?Do you see yourself more inclined to study, retreat or service? All these points might help people better direct you to potentialcommunities and teachers.

After meeting several students and teachers connected with it, I feel comfortable recommending Orgyen Osal Cho Dzong, the Palyul Foundation of Canada. They have a retreat and teaching centre located in Madoc, Ontario. This is the website: http://www.palyulcanada.org/

They are connected with the Palyul lineage and heirs of the late Penor Rinpoche. I am not sure though what the process for residency and ordination is.

Adamantine wrote:Wisdom, --Who is your Guru, and where is your ideal place to reside? It seems to me there may be many varieties of opportunities for you, but it would help to know more details of specific lineage and your preferences, etc.

My Guru is HH Katok Getse Rinpoche, but I have yet to hear if he will accept my offering to him as his student. I am strongly connected to the Dudjom lineage. I have never been one to seek empowerments though, so I do not hold lots of empowerments and so forth. I've been a very solitary practitioner, so I am basically unknown to the local Sangha. I've been up there a few times, and plan on going to speak with the resident monk soon if I can. I have only received DI from ChNNR twice, his donwang of Dorje Drollod, and transmission of the Nang Jang from HH Katok Getse Rinpoche, with who I also took Refuge and Bodhisattva vows from. I practice the Dudjom Tersar as my Ngondro for now. That basically sums up everything I have done in Dharma.

So the main obstacle for me is that I'm going to appear like a crazy westerner who has some grandiose idea he wants to execute, but really this development has been gradual even if the manifestation in my life and change in my mindstream was sudden, I've been developing steadily for a few years and have considered ordination off and on during that time as well. Now, even though I feel maddened by a desire to see and serve my guru, serve living beings and study and practice Dharma (what I have come to call the three madnesses), my mind is very clear about it all even if I have this sense of these desires being maddening. I feel like the triple jewel has been born in my heart, and that these three desires have overtaken everything in my reality. I do have faith however that if I am examined for motivation, intention, capability and so forth, that I will not be found lacking to at least have a trial period at a monastery that will allow me to show my faith and dedication to this pursuit.

The main reasons westerners should not ordain I feel don't apply to me though. I have no drama in my life, Ive been celibate for years, my father approves but is not terribly thrilled (and even if he disapproved, I understand that my choice is for the sake of all, and not just one man despite my close relationship to him so it would not hinder me or cause me to give back my vows). I know that ordination is taken for life, without the intention to "give them back" at some point in the future. That would not really be in line with the spirit of such renunciation. I have imagined this to the end, seeing myself as an old monk who walked away from the world at the age of 30, and it makes me happy to think that way. I don't idealize it in any way, just a monk who did this, nobody special, and thats good enough for me. When I think of myself as an old man who decided to keep doing what hes doing now, even changing careers or whatever... I feel a sense of loss, or a sense that something is wrong with that picture. Even if I am happy, have a happy family, and bring much benefit to a wife and children, I will always feel like all of that time spent on worldly things was a waste.

JKhedrup wrote:Are you looking for a community in Asia or in a Western country? Do you speak Tibetan or want to access a program in English?Do you see yourself more inclined to study, retreat or service? All these points might help people better direct you to potentialcommunities and teachers.

After meeting several students and teachers connected with it, I feel comfortable recommending Orgyen Osal Cho Dzong, the Palyul Foundation of Canada. They have a retreat and teaching centre located in Madoc, Ontario. This is the website: http://www.palyulcanada.org/

They are connected with the Palyul lineage and heirs of the late Penor Rinpoche. I am not sure though what the process for residency and ordination is.

In the west is ideal because I cannot afford to travel back and forth, obtain visas, and so forth. Thus living in Canada might be a problem, but who knows maybe I could get residency there. Ideally it would be in the US. I don't speak Tibetan but will learn if possible. I am inclined towards everything to be honest, I see those three as tying together. Study and practice leads to better quality retreats, and all of that makes you better enabled to serve others. I know many places have a daily Sadhana or two as well. So my vision, I suppose, is that I would do those daily practices associated with the monastery itself, spend my free time either meditating, practicing or studying (which I already alternate in my daily life anyways when I can), and whenever I could be of service in any way I can.

I have a strong aspiration to learn Tibetan. If I can make this happen, that will become a huge focus for me because I would love for translation to be in my future and I would love to help the dispensation of Dharma in the west by translating the countless texts that still need translated or even traveling with a teacher and translating for him, but fluency will be harder to acquire. I am young though, so there is time, at least until impermanence takes me

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

wisdom wrote:Thus living in Canada might be a problem, but who knows maybe I could get residency there.

The monk I mentioned, a US citizen, has been living there for about a year now but also travels to visit family in the US.

Kirt

Nice. I think it would be easier to get residency in Canada compared to other countries. If its close enough to the US border it would be easy enough to go over, apply for a new visa, and come back as well.

I don't know if I have to ordain into a monastery that is directly associated with my Guru or not. I don't see why that would be absolutely necessary. But I do want to ordain into one that he would be welcome to come to and invited to so that I would have opportunities to see him and get more teachings from him directly. Of course, I am happy to have many teachers and I do see all Rinpoches as Bodhisattvas, if not living Buddhas. My understanding is that my Guru is somewhat of a wanderer. I don't think he even has monasteries in the west anyways. I couldn't find any. He is associated with monasteries in Tibet or India, but right now I don't see that as possible for me, especially knowing no Tibetan.

Once I get a working grasp of Tibetan I am going to start a penpal program though to get fluent in casual written Tibetan though as a first step towards spoken fluency. Its pretty cool because you help them learn English, and they help you learn Tibetan, and you develop together.

well, you can pm , me i am starting a monastic community, in vancouver BC. i will provide food and shelter , to a monk like . there is va Kathok centre on vancouver Island , i know its two teachers very well.please write me i can be of help

Wisdom i rejoice in your decision..one word of advice...dont talk about your decsion to much with others, this could lead to obsatcles. A dear friend of mine who ordained 2 years back and went into retreat had this problem after discussing it with friends online/facebook etc. Her teacher adviced her to keep it to herself and speak only about it with her teacher and close sangha... hope this is of help. Tashi delek.

philji wrote:Wisdom i rejoice in your decision..one word of advice...dont talk about your decsion to much with others, this could lead to obsatcles. A dear friend of mine who ordained 2 years back and went into retreat had this problem after discussing it with friends online/facebook etc. Her teacher adviced her to keep it to herself and speak only about it with her teacher and close sangha... hope this is of help. Tashi delek.

Thank you for this sound advice. Other than reaching out here, and reaching out to those who might be of assistance, the only person who knows of my choice if my father. I can't just disappear, but I agree about keeping silence in general, about everything Dharma related really, unless it is of direct benefit to others.

Trulshik Rinpoche was once the go to lama for many who sought to ordain with a Nyingma master. Since his passing I am not sure who performs a similar role, though certainly many Nyingma monks take the Gelong/Bhikshu vows with HH Dalai Lama.

I've found your post, while browsing the net on 'ordination in nyingma tradition', like I've done for many times now, since my biggest wish in this life is te become a monk.

While reading your post I felt so much joy. One reason for that is that I recognize your motivation and it was almost like I was reading my own story. There are a lot of similarities, although I'm properly a little bit older then you are. I'm 38 years old and I live in the Netherlands (Holland, Europe).

I hope that, with all the good advise of other practitioners here, you've made already some further steps to achieve your goal. Is it possible for you to share your progression hear. I'm sure it can be very helpful for other Westeners who want to live their life's as a monk, so they can serve the precious Dharma and all sentient beings.

At this moment my daily practice is the Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro, within the Rigpa Sangha of Sogyal Rinpoche. I've never had a personal meeting with Rinpoche, but he has blessed me several times as the conclusion of the retreats I've done. Although it would be priceless to have a personal meeting with the Guru, I don't make work of it, since I'm 'just' happy with all the teachings I'm receiving; whether they come in real life, via video teachings or via mp3's on my iPhone. And also, since Rinpoche has so many students, I don't want to take of his precious time, while he could at the same time spend it with other sentient beings.

The last ngöndro retreat I've entered at the main seat of Rinpoche, Lerab Ling (France, Europe), I had a personal talk with the chief sangha care. I've shared with him my long time wish (since my childhood) to become a monk, but I did not dare to ask for it. What would I do if the answer is "No, you can't..."? Find another Guru and sangha?

I'm close to discussing with the founder of the Dutch Rigpa sangha my wish to get ordained. I hope he will have some helpful tips and advise. If that happend I will share that information here.

Good luck Wisdom on your path. I really hope you'll find a way to get ordained within the Nyingma tradition.

Oh and since I'm not an English native, please forgive me for my poor gramma.

If you are willing to visit rural Nepal, I would recommend monk, scholar and Lama, H.E Tulku Pema Rigstal Rinpoche. He lives in Humla Nepal, and is the head of the Namkha Khyung Dzong monastery there. This monastery practices the Dudjom tradition of the Nyingma that was passed down by ordained monk, Degyal Rinpoche (b.1873).

Best wishes,

dd

'Maybe you collect a lot of important writings, major texts, personal instructions private notes, whatever. If you haven't practiced, books won't help you when you die. Look at the mind - that's my sincere advice' - Longchen Rabjam